PBS may seem immune to the changing of the seasons, but you wouldn’t be able to tell from the fantastic lineup that’s coming in January 2025. The big guns have come out for Public Broadcast System this month, including new seasons of two of its most popular shows: Antiques Road Show and Finding Your Roots.
It’s also a strong month on PBS for international dramas, including fan-favorites All Creatures Great and Small and Miss Scarlet, both of which have new seasons as well. It’s an embarrassment of riches, and you can watch them all for free on your local PBS station or online.
If you missed the best shows on PBS from December, you can still stream those online. However, you’ll have to wait for the premiere dates listed below to catch everything coming to PBS in January.
Are you looking for more shows to watch this month? If so, check out our guides on the best new shows to stream, the best shows on Netflix, the best shows on Hulu, and the best shows on Disney+.
Great Performances — From Vienna: The New Year’s Celebration 2025
Premieres: Wednesday, January 1
Experience this beloved concert from the Golden Hall of the Musikvere to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the birth of Johann Strauss. The concert is conducted by Riccardo Muti for the seventh time, with PBS favorite Hugh Bonneville turning to host.
Walters Presents — Astrid Season 4
Premiere: Friday, January 3
Astrid (Sara Mortensen), an autistic woman with a brilliant mind who works in the judicial police’s library, helps Commander Raphaelle (Lola Dewaere) solve the most complex cases. In French with English subtitles.
Independent Lens — Dallas, 2019
Premieres: Friday, January 3
A cross-section of life in Dallas, as fault lines emerge between those who follow, make, and battle the law. This five-part series follows the harried lives of city workers, community organizers, and diverse citizens as they confront natural and human-made disasters, a struggling school system, and cycles of incarceration. What will the future of Dallas look like?
Vienna Blood season 4
Premiere: Sunday, January 5
Vienna, 1909: The double murder of an arms dealer in police custody and a senior public official has shaken Vienna to its core. Can Dr. Max Liebermann (Matthew Beard) and Inspector Oskar Rheinhardt (Juergen Maurer) do enough to stop the seditious mole known as ‘Mephisto’ from bringing the Austro-Hungarian Empire to destruction? And will their lives ever be the same again?
Antiques Roadshow season 29
Premieres: Monday, January 6
Antiques Roadshow, PBS’s most-watched ongoing series and 22-time Emmy Award nominee, shares an all-new search for America’s hidden treasures kicking off Season 29 on Monday, January 6, with a visit to Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, the first of three episodes filmed in Bentonville, Arkansas (Jan. 6, 13, 20).
Roadshow’s new season continues with stops in Las Vegas, Nevada, at Springs Preserve, where a season-topping $650,000 treasure is discovered (Jan. 27, Feb. 3, 10); then it’s on to more finds in Urbandale, Iowa at Living History Farms (Feb. 17, 24, Mar. 17) and Littleton, Colorado, for the first two of three hours from a visit to Denver Botanic Gardens Chatfield Farms (Mar. 24, 31)!
Independent Lens — Minted
Premieres: Monday, January 6
An insider’s look at the rise and fall of the NFT (non-fungible token) phenomenon and how technology transformed the traditional art world, for better and worse. Featuring verité footage and candid interviews with groundbreaking artists — like Beeple, Latasha Alcindor, and Loish — at the center of this phenomenon, Minted delves into the complex world of the $40 billion NFT digital art market.
Finding Your Roots with Henry Louis Gates, Jr. season 11
Premieres: Tuesday, January 7
Finding Your Roots with Henry Louis Gates, Jr. returns for its eleventh season on PBS. Over the course of 10 new episodes, Gates and his team use genealogical detective work and cutting-edge DNA analysis to trace the family trees of 20 compelling guests, telling stories that illuminate America’s fundamental diversity.
The guest roster for Season 11 includes actors Kristen Bell, Laurence Fishburne, Debra Messing, Michael Imperioli, Melanie Lynskey, Sheryl Lee Ralph, Lea Salonga, Amanda Seyfried, Dax Shepard, and Sharon Stone; celebrity chefs José Andrés and Sean Sherman; novelist Amy Tan; poet Rita Dove; historian Lonnie Bunch; talk show host Joy Behar; musician Rubén Blades; journalist Natalie Morales; and model Chrissy Teigen.
Lucy Worsley Investigates season 2
Premieres: Tuesday, January 7
In this series, Lucy Worsley reinvestigates some of the most dramatic and brutal chapters in British history. She uncovers forgotten witnesses, reexamines old evidence, and follows new clues to bring a fresh and modern perspective to some of the most enduring historical mysteries. This season she explores Jack the Ripper, the Gunpowder Plot, William the Conqueror, and Bloody Mary.
Miss Scarlet Season 5
Premiere: Sunday, January 12, 8 p.m.
Eliza’s agency is thriving, with her professional life on a successful path. On the personal side, Duke has now been away in New York for several months, forcing Eliza to make a difficult decision. Meanwhile, a new Detective Inspector comes to Scotland Yard, and Eliza must navigate building a relationship with him if she’s going to continue having access to police resources.
All these changes and decisions beg the question: Can Eliza Scarlet have it all? Starring Kate Phillips (Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light) as Eliza and Tom Durant Pritchard (This Is Going to Hurt, The Crown) as the Detective Inspector.
All Creatures Great and Small season 5
Premiere: Sunday, January 12
It is spring 1941, and we return to Darrowby to find young baby Jimmy keeping everyone in Skeldale House on their toes. Helen (Rachel Shenton) is getting the hang of motherhood with James (Nicholas Ralph) away at RAF Abingdon; Mrs. Hall (Anna Madeley) and Siegfried (Samuel West) are enjoying having a little one around, and Carmody (James Anthony-Rose) is now a full-fledged member of the Skeldale family.
With World War II now fully underway, Siegfried takes up the slack at the surgery, Mrs. Hall and Helen consider their contribution to the community, and Carmody readies to step up. Siegfried is keen to have everyone back, but Tristan’s (Callum Woodhouse) surprise return won’t be quite as straightforward as he hoped.
Independent Lens — Without Arrows
Premieres: Monday, January 13
After 13 years living in Philadelphia, Delwin Fiddler Jr., a champion grass dancer, embraces Indigenous culture by returning to his ancestral home on the Cheyenne River Reservation in South Dakota. Leaving his big-city life behind, Delwin aims to protect his centuries-old Lakota heritage and heal from family tragedy through his passion for dance.
Journey To America: With Newt and Callista Gingrich
Premieres: Tuesday, January 14
For generations, immigrants have come to America with the hope of realizing the American dream. Their stories are united by the shared belief in the founding principles of our nation. Journey To America: With Newt and Callista Gingrich features inspiring immigrant stories from those who have come to the United States and excelled.
From entrepreneurs to everyday Americans, Journey To America: With Newt and Callista Gingrich celebrates their achievements in a nation that, at its best, recognizes that freedom and opportunity are offered to all. Executive produced and hosted by Speaker Newt Gingrich and Ambassador Callista L. Gingrich.
Walters Presents — Sisi: Austrian Empress season 3
Premieres: Friday, January 17
Meet Sisi, Europe’s first superstar. With her beauty, love of freedom, and promise to give the Habsburg monarchy a gentler face, this legendary empress inspired the whole of the continent. In German with English subtitles.
Nature — Big Cats, Small World: Landlords
Premieres: Wednesday, January 22
On the shores of Botswana’s Gomoti River, three big cats have made themselves a home. An aging lion has his hands full with new cubs, a cheetah mother races to get her five cubs to independence, and a male leopard embarks on a bumpy journey to fatherhood. To succeed, these cats must use their unique skills to avoid lethal encounters, outsmart rivals, and thrive in a crowded neighborhood. Narrated by David Oyelowo.
Nova — What Are UFOs?
Premieres: Wednesday, January 22
For decades, UFOs have captivated the public, while many scientists considered them too taboo to investigate. Now, after highly publicized sightings of unidentified objects by Navy pilots, UFOs are moving out of the shadows and into the light, as NASA pledges to study them scientifically. So, what does science have to say? Many sightings can be attributed to physical objects like balloons or drones, weather phenomena, or optical illusions. But others remain mysterious.
Could they be the result of secret new technology developed by other governments or done by our own? What would it take for alien engineers to traverse vast distances to send probes or visit Earth from other solar systems? Explore the evidence, as astrophysicists and engineers use new technologies to investigate these intriguing mysteries.
Great Migrations — A People on the Move
Premieres: Tuesday, January 28
Great Migrations — A People on the Move examines the powerful influence of Black migration on American culture and society. While the first large migration was a forced journey from Africa in bondage, voluntary migrations in the 20th and 21st centuries have significantly reshaped the nation.
This series explores the first and second waves of the Great Migration from the South to the North during the two World Wars, the “New Great Migration” of African Americans returning home to the South of their ancestors since the 1970s, and the “Next Great Migration,” marked by the historic and growing influx of African and Caribbean immigration in the 20th and 21st centuries. The film powerfully demonstrates that movement is a defining feature of the Black American experience. Hosted by Henry Louis Gates, Jr.
Nova — Extreme Airport Engineering
Premieres: Wednesday, January 29
In New York City, a team of elite designers, engineers, and construction workers builds the ultimate airport. The new LaGuardia is America’s first new airport in more than 25 years, costing more than $8 billion. Go behind the scenes on the 8-year journey as 7,000 workers rebuild the old airport to create a brand new, fully connected facility that can handle more than 34 million passengers every year — all while planes continue to land and take off. Follow the teams’ ups and downs as they assemble 72,000 tons of steel and almost 600,000 tons of concrete, battling extreme weather, complex geology, and massive machines in a race to complete the construction of this engineering marvel.
Walters Presents — Velvet season 2
Premieres: Friday, January 31
Alberto, heir to the Velvet empire, returns home for his father’s latest collection. But among the luxury and glamour, the Art Deco palace hides family secrets and forbidden loves. Starring Paula Echevarría (The Commissioner) and Miguel Ángel Silvestre (Sense 8, Money Heist).In Spanish with English subtitles.
